Fraud is so rampant in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins wants to have all SNAP recipients apply again.

While leftist groups were demanding SNAP benefits flow during the government shutdown, Rollins noted in recent comments on “The Ingraham Angle” that fraud is rampant.

She said more than 500,000 people were found to have been taking SNAP benefits twice in a limited response from states that shared data with the USDA.

The USDA learned that “186,000 deceased men and women and children in this country are receiving a check,” she said in a Newsmax interview.

NEW: Agriculture Sec. Brooke Rollins says every SNAP recipient will be forced to reapply and prove they “can’t survive without it.”

“Fundamentally rebuild this program, have everyone reapply, make sure that everyone on SNAP can’t survive without it.”
pic.twitter.com/chU2WRrXBl

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 14, 2025

“Can you imagine when we get our hands on the blue state data what we’re going to find?” she said.

“It’s going to give us a platform and a trajectory to fundamentally rebuild this program, have everyone reapply for their benefit, make sure that everyone that’s taking a taxpayer-funded benefit through SNAP or food stamps, that they literally are vulnerable, and they can’t survive without it,” Rollins said, according to the New York Post. 

Although SNAP recipients are supposed to update the information with the state where they live, Rollins said SNAP is “one of the most corrupt, dysfunctional programs in American history,” vowing the Trump administration will be “cracking down, we now have a plan to fix it.”

Should the Trump administration focus on rooting out SNAP fraudsters?

Yes: 99% (113 Votes)

No: 1% (1 Votes)

Rollins noted that 120 people were arrested for SNAP fraud recently in Ohio after an investigation that took 11 months and tracked 17,000 illegal transactions that took place using SNAP benefits, the Post noted.

“These are the things that we’re uncovering that, for years, no one has really ever dug into because the feds didn’t have the system in place to do it. But we do now,” Rollins said.

On my first day @USDA, we told every state to send us their SNAP data so we could make sure illegal immigrants aren’t getting benefits meant for American families. 29 states stepped up. 21 blue states refused — and two SUED US FOR ASKING! 🤦🏻‍♀️

And guess what? In just the states… pic.twitter.com/W7ha0Le1eN

— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) November 2, 2025

“The president has made this a priority,” she added. “We will fix this program.”

For now, SNAP recipients are expected to get their benefits on Monday, Rollins said.

As the spigot opens again, TV station KKTV-TV is estimating that fraud costs about $12 billion a year.

Fraudsters are “taking it to the next level every day,” said Mark Haskins, branch chief of the special investigations unit for the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.

Just the News reported that Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Steven Vaden has indicated his agency is collecting data relating to SNAP across several states to see where funds for the program are going.

Vaden cited an instance of one individual getting SNAP in six separate states. Another person had over $50,000 loaded onto their electronic benefits card.

Contributor, News

Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.